Reunion
by KingdomKeeper1121
Summary: All of the Keepers have gone off to college out of state. Well, all but Jess. Four years she's been separated from her best friends; from her sister. When the day finally comes that she gets to see them all again, will things go as planned? Or will they take an unexpected turn?


Today is the day. The day I get to see my best friends again. The day I get to see the people who made my life worth living again.

The day I get to see my sister again.

It's been almost four years since I've seen any of them. They all went off to bigger colleges out of state, leaving me here alone at Florida State University. I would've gone with one of them, but there were a few things that stood in my way. First off, I'm a homebody. I can't stand being away from home for a long period of time. Secondly, the expense was too much. Amanda alone had sent mom into debt (although not too much thanks to her scholarship). And lastly, my grades didn't meet the requirements. What does that mean? It means I didn't get in anywhere; I got lucky with FSU. But that's not important. What's important is that they're all coming back here today for the next two months. Graduation is coming up and yes, we've all accepted the fact that we won't be able to attend each others. It's just how it works.

"Jess, are you even listening to me?" I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt a hand clasp my arm.

"Huh? What? Oh yeah…sorry mom." We were in the car on our way to the airport to meet everyone when they landed.

"Is something wrong? You've been zoned out for a while; longer than usual."

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

She smiled at me. "You'll see her soon, Jess. And I know for a fact she misses you as much as you miss her; if not more."

As we pulled into the parking lot, we were met by Philby and Finn's moms. We all made our way inside and as we came to the gate at which their plane was supposed to land, we saw Jelly, along with the rest of the Keeper's mom's. A round of hugs went by and now, as we sit waiting, we talk of random and pointless things. I stay out of all the conversations because I just can't get my mind off of Amanda. She's all I've thought about for the past four years;. Four Christmases apart, four birthdays separated. So much has happened between the day she left and today. Finn proposed, she got her degree; she just _soared_ through college. She tried coming home for the holidays, but the airfare was just too much. After we graduate, she and I are planning on getting an apartment together for a few years. Yes, she and Finn are engaged, but they both made it clear that they won't be getting married for a few years. And now, after all the things I've been thinking about for the past four years, I start thinking about the one thing I hopped I never would.

The plane crashing.

Great, just what I need right now. Yes, I _know_ I'm being a bit paranoid, but wouldn't you? I mean think about it. Amanda's the reason I'm here today. She's the reason why I'm still alive. She's the reason—

"_Jess!_" An ear piercing screech caught my attention from a distance and, before I could comprehend what was going on, I was attacked with a hug. My first thought was that it was Amanda, and that brought tears to my eyes. But as I opened my eyes, and saw the girl's blond hair, I immediately wrapped my arms around my best friend.

"Char…"

"Jess, oh my god, look at you! You've grown so much in the past three and a half years!"

I felt my face heat up just as Maybeck sauntered over. "It's been nice without you up in Minnesota, Lockhart. It's cold enough without you there."

I made a face at him. "I've missed you too, Maydork." We laughed and embraced.

"I _still_ will never understand you two's relationship."

"It's very complex."

I turned around and nearly fainted. "Too complicated for the nerds to figure out?" I teased.

"We prefer the term geeks." Philby said.

"And yes," Willa added sarcastically, "the relationship you have with Maybeck is something more complicated than any type of math; any type of science."

"Talking about being in a relationship with Maybeck? I would hope my girlfriend hasn't replaced me yet…"

I gasped and turned around. "Dillard!" He held his arms out and I ran to him. Long distance is so hard with him. I miss him too much. I mean he's only fifteen hours away but that's too big of a drive just for a weekend. When Amanda wasn't on my mind, which was next to never, my thoughts were occupied by him.

"I've missed you so much, princess…"

"I've missed you too…" I lifted my head and saw Finn looking at me, that cheesy grin plastered on his face. "Well if it isn't my future brother-in-law…" Dillard and I let go of each other and he walked over to talk to his mom after kissing my cheek.

He laughed. "How have you been Jess? It's been a while, yeah?"

"It's been a while indeed." I said walking up to him. "You been treating my sister right? Respectfully? Hm? Or am I going to have to kick your ass for hurting her?" He gave me a look of terror. "Finn, you know I'm joking…don't you?"

He laughed. "I do. And I feel like I _have _been treating her right. Giving her the utmost respect and hurting anyone who hurts her."

"Ooh, big macho man." He laughed again. "Beware of the deadly Finn Whitman." He hugged me and I hugged him back tighter. "I forgot how good you give hugs…geez Finn…You make me want to marry you sometimes!"

"If you think his hugs are good…try kissing the guy! And hands off my fiancé! He's mine!"

My eyes shot open and in the direction of the familiar voice that has only been in my dreams for the last four years. "Amanda…"

She dropped her things and met me with a tight embrace; one I've been waiting for since the day she left. I couldn't stop the tears that began to fall from my eyes as I felt her lift me off my feet. I felt like I had died and went to heaven. This moment was one that I could only dream of. "Jess…My Jess…My sister…I've missed you more than anything or anyone else."

I pulled back from the hug and held her head between my hands. "You've changed so much…You're no longer that little college freshman I saw so long ago. You're a senior now…and look at you." She smiled and kissed my forehead. "I've missed you so much…" My voice was small, I was on the verge of tears.

**…**

The drive home was full of Amanda talking about everything that happened since she left. It made me so happy seeing her so alive. Her face lit up every time she started a new sentence, her hands moved around every time she described something, and her smile was bigger and brighter than it has ever been. She told us about her first day there, how she was terrified of everything. As we pulled into the driveway, she had just finished talking about something that happened last week. Usually people talking about themselves this much would get on my nerves. Not with Amanda. Not when I haven't seen her in forever. The second we walked into the house I was pulled upstairs.

"I want to see your room. I want to see what you did with it after you moved all of my stuff out. Did you paint all over the walls? Did you take advantage of the space and expand your—" She stopped when she opened the door. Everything was exactly where she had left it; untouched for four years.

"I never moved anything out. I never touched a thing. I didn't want to be completely separated from you while you were gone…"

"Jess you…"

I shake my head, tears coming to my eyes. "I missed you so much. And I knew that if I moved anything out of my room…out of _our _room I would just…" I shake my head again, closing my eyes tightly.

"Jessie…" I felt Amanda's arms around me tightly and I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm so happy you never moved anything."

I opened my eyes and pulled back just far enough to see her face. "What?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want you to move my stuff. I had just said that because I knew you'd like the space for your art and stuff. I still want to share a room with you."

"Amanda, you said it yourself that you wanted your own room the day you left."

"I know I did, but after sharing a room with a stranger for three years, I realized how much I couldn't stand not sleeping in the same room as you."

This literally brought tears to my eyes. Amanda noticed, and threw her arms around my waist just as I walked into the room. Her head was right next to mine, her chin on my shoulder. Her million dollar laugh that would make boys everywhere weak in the knees rang in my ears and I couldn't help the idiotic smile that crossed my face. "You know you owe me a thousand dollars right?"

I could feel her body tense and freeze. "What? I thought it was fifty!" I nodded. "Then where did the other nine hundred and fifty come from?!"

I laughed. "I charge interest when you take my money, sweetheart."

She released me and walked around so she was standing in front of me. "Jessica Lockhart." She crossed her arms. "You're no longer getting you fifty _or_ thousand dollars. Charging interest on your own sister?" She shook her head. "Shame shame…" She giggled a little which led me to realize that she's not really mad and that she must've caught on to me joking about all this.

"Hm…" I put my hand on my chin, thinking. "I do accept substitutions…"

She gave me a look. "What kind of 'substitutions' are we talking about?"

I paced around her. "Food…items…_hugs_…" I put emphases on hugs.

"I can give you more hugs than you ask for…"

"Hugs it is!" She hugged me and I laughed. "One down, nine hundred ninety-nine to go." She playfully shoved me and grabbed my journal, running downstairs with it in hand.

"Catch me if you can!" She yelled.

"Amanda Lockhart! You get your butt back here this instant!" I ran after her. As I ran down the stairs, I heard the sink in the kitchen turn on.

"Oops!" Amanda yelled. My heart froze and I ran into the kitchen only to see my sister holding my journal over the sink.

"You better not…"

"Or else what?"

I lunged at her and grabbed my journal, tossing it on the counter on the other side of the room. I wrapped my arms around her tightly. "I love you so much. I'm glad you're home."

She hugged me back. "So am I, Jessie…So am I…"


End file.
